Jeff Tyzik

25/26 marks Jeff Tyzik’s 32nd season as RPO Pops Conductor but his music journey began long before his permanent residency in Kodak Hall.

Born in Hyde Park, New York, he started playing cornet at age nine – inspired by the buglers during an Independence Day parade in nearby Poughkeepsie. He switched to trumpet at age 11, and eventually went on to attend Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, ultimately earning Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees.

Even before Tyzik’s schooling was completed, his star was on the rise. While at Eastman, Tyzik met Chuck Mangione, with whom he worked between 1973 and 1980 – both as lead trumpter in Mangione’s band and as co-producer of four albums. During that time, Tyzik befriended Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen, who eventually invited Tyzik to London to record two albums. That relationship proved fruitful, with Tyzik producing the Grammy-winning The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severinsen, Vol. 1. Severinsen’s albums with Tyzik would go on to earn three additional Grammy nominations.

Tyzik also recorded his own albums as a solo trumpeter between 1981 and 1990, when he and his big band frequently performed in Rochester.

In 1993, Tyzik proposed a four-concert series featuring RPO members dubbed “All in the Family”. The first debuted October 22 and highlighted Kenneth Grant (clarinet), Joseph Werner (piano), and percussionists William Cahn and Dave Mancini. Less than a month later, Tyzik was asked to become Principal Pops Conductor.

Jeff quickly made his mark on the orchestra in his second season, performing the first in his endearing, enduring Gala Holiday Pops series. He also made RPO history conducting an all-Gershwin album featuring pianist Jon Nakamatsu. The recording topped the Billboard Classical chart and remained in the top 10 for three months.

Over five decades, Tyzik has guest conducted more than 100 orchestras, including the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, and Milwaukee Symphony. In September 2023, he made his debut with the New York Philharmonic and returned later that season to conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2023-24 finale.

He’s also shared the stage with a remarkable range of artists across genres – from Tony Bennett and Leslie Odom, Jr. to Wynonna Judd, Art Garfunkel, Marilyn Horne, Arturo Sandoval, The Chieftains, Megan Hilty, Dawn Upshaw, and John Pizzarelli.

In 2012, Tyzik and his daughter Jami co-founded the management and production company Greenberg Artists. Since 2016, in partnership with Schirmer Theatrical, they’ve developed dozens of orchestral Pops programs now performed by nearly 200 orchestras.

In 2023, Tyzik launched TyzikMusic.com, a digital publishing platform featuring more than 150 of his arrangements, orchestrations, and compositions for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, and wind ensemble.